Haskins report – what the papers say
19 October 2001
Haskins report – what the papers say
By Adrienne Francis
LORD HASKINS plans for a rural recovery after foot-and-mouth have prompted widespread coverage in Britains national newspapers.
The Independent reports his call for an overhaul of farming, quoting the Labour peer as saying that “lame duck” enterprises will face extinction.
The Guardian says the report is a bleak assessment of agriculture, leading his warning that: “Only fittest will survive shake-up.”
Small businesses will get 24 million under the governments pledge, and yet the foot-and-mouth report “presents a bleak vision”, it adds.
Farmers are warned that there will be “a big shake-up of their highly subsidised industry to root out the inefficient”.
The Daily Mail reports Lord Haskins view that the real impact of the foot-and-mouth crisis has been emotional rather than financial.
It says the governments 24m aid pledge will “mainly be used to give hotels and attractions a winter coat of paint”.
The Daily Telegraph says more cash is needed to avoid rural collapse, and details the problems faced by farmers this winter.
Meanwhile, the Financial Times focuses on the criticism of council chiefs for closing paths in the foot-and-mouth crisis.